Many industry players were caught off guard during the pandemic by inadequate business systems and manual processes. As workforces transform, many manufacturers and distributors have begun noticing the real benefits of process automation. Business owners realize that the digital toolkit available to them has grown, and they can contemplate technology-
centred solutions.
While “digital transformation” and “automation” are often interchangeable, they have distinct meanings. Automation applies to the application of technology to drive processes to run alone, making those processes more efficient with increasing transparency and reporting capabilities. On the other hand, automation is digital transformation, a means to an end.
Improve Efficiency and Productivity
Automating tasks means improving workflows and less time spent on manual labour. Automation has the benefit of removing repetitive functions and allowing jobs to be completed more efficiently and productively. It can take over tedious tasks, such as manually capturing shipping data or scheduling production jobs. Furthermore, plugging AI into ERP systems can decrease inaccuracies often felt throughout the supply chain, solving the problem and resulting in better outcomes for the whole business process.
Automation plays a crucial role in the digital transformation journey for manufacturers, enhancing their business environment for the better while improving supply chain management. For example, automation with hardware like scanners as the system input device warehouse management and ERP can efficiently monitor stock levels. This provides real-time inventory data that can make the factory floor operate more efficiently when integrated with manufacturing systems.
Reduction of Costs and Expenditure
By investing in an ERP system and automating processes, manufacturers can look at adopting manufacturing principles to reduce manufacturing costs – by increasing productivity, cutting production through-put times, reducing inventories and cutting errors and scrap.
Improve Customer Experience
Providing an exceptional customer experience is paramount for competing in the digital age. Intelligent automation can help you accomplish this by automating tasks that require human interaction, such as responding to customer queries or complaints.
Improve Job Satisfaction & Workplace Culture
Automation frees your staff to execute more challenging or creative tasks that are ultimately more rewarding and make happier and more engaged employees. When your team is involved, they care more about their work, which translates into business success.
You can also make your developers’ lives more manageable by using a low-code, visual approach workflow automation solution. Doing this allows you to provide business functionality in web apps and spread that development among more people (developers) in your organization. In turn, pressure on your IT teams will ease and free them up to focus on more critical business needs.
Conclusion
Process automation is a crucial step toward digital transformation. Deploying and socializing automation across the company means entire teams benefitting from the recently streamlined workflow, not only IT. Automating daily workflows is at the core of a successful digital transformation. If your business doesn’t already have a straightforward workflow automation solution, it’s a good idea to start looking for one now.
To facilitate digital transformation, the Government of Canada announced the $4 billion Canada Digital Adoption Program (CDAP) to help get your business online, boost your e-commerce presence, or help digitalize your business’s operations. It is a perfect opportunity for companies to take advantage of this program. BHC brings a depth of experience across environments to automation and transformation initiatives.
From improving operations and optimizing investments by automating the end-to-end technology lifecycle to planning, integrating and supporting the infrastructure and tools you need to transform successfully, our team is ready to help.
